A Day Trip During the Weekend to Castello del Trebbio

1960 Eugenie who was heading to Italy from Austria, met the man of her life on the train. They got married, had five kids together. And on 1968 they decided to buy the Castello del Trebbio and live there full-time! They started to plant vineyard, olive trees, and made their own business around the castle. Until today the current owner Anna, one of the daughters of Eugenie, together with the family members is still working very hard on producing good quality of wine, extra virgin olive oil, and authentic agriturismo services.

The view in front of castello del trebbio

Built in 1184, Castello del Trebbio was originally owned by the Pazzi family. If you were like me, who is from a different culture, you may as well not familiar with the Pazzi. But for anyone who has anything to do with Florence, it is hard to not hear about the Medici.

During the Renaissance, Florence became the center of the western world. And there the culture and art blossomed, so as the banking. There were 30 families of bankers and most important and powerful one being the Medici family. The other families were all sort of stepped down, one of them is the Pazzi. In order to change the situation, the Pazzi decided to kill the Medici member, Lorenzo de’Medici. Although they didn’t succeed, but this conspiracy was considered, together with the one of JFK, the most important in the history for the balance of the political power in the world. The difference is the latter one succeeded, while the Pazzi didn’t.

During our tour, we visited the “conspiracy” room, where the Pazzi had a meeting and planned the murder. It is kept as a living room for private use nowadays, however the history behind makes visitors see the room as a mini-museum.

Behind the heavy wood door, there held a historic event of the Pazzi, as well as the on-going love story and passion of the current owner.

Another thing makes this ancient castle special is: this is one of the few castles in Italy that is still inhabit all year round. You may think living in an ancient castle is like having the lifestyle of a prince/ princess, but in reality, it is the opposite. The castle costs high maintenance fee, and in order to keep the business running, the current owner instead of enjoy the readily available Dolce Vita, they need to work, very hard! And not only this. During the winter, inside the old castle without heater, it is much colder than in a modern apartment. Even the fireplace could only heat up part of the room. So to maintain the business and the castle, besides getting benefits from selling wine and olive oil, sincere passion and belief from the owner family are indispensable. Like written at the beginning: it all comes from love!

Nowadays, Castello del Trebbio produces high quality wine, extra virgin olive oil, and pure saffron, as well as accommodations and wedding packages. During our tour of 7 people, we visited the 900-year-old wine cellar, the private kitchen, where we got our hands dirty to make fresh pasta, and tasted the wine, as well as the pasta that we contributed in cooking.

Thanks to L&B Italian Tour, we were able to enjoy a private tour inside the castle and visit the old corner of the cellar.

old old bottles

a corner of the cellar in castello del trebbio

Joining the pasta making class with Adriana. She made a miracle in front of us turning the flour and eggs into fresh tagliatelle pasta! All by hands, no pasta machine, not even adding a drop of water!!!

pasta making with the guru, nonna adriana

hand made pasta ready to jump into the water

goodies

Our appetizer during wine tasting. I liked every one of them, but my favorite definitely was the thin crostini with black olive sauce on top. I immediately went to buy this crostini and the black olive sauce after the tour, and DIY-ed some at home.

guys serving the pasta for us

Only 30 minutes by car from Florence, Castello del Trebbio fits a perfect day trip in the countryside. Join a tour to visit the castle, have wine tasting, then dine at the restaurant sounds a great day trip idea. Besides, Castello del Trebbio offers wedding banquets and accommodations for tourists, who would like to stay and mark their special moments in the historical spot.

Dear Sasha, I would like to invite you come and visit my place in Chianti Borgo Argenina.
I know you like borgo.
I came to Gaiole in Chianti 20 years ago when the hamlet was just ruins. It’s a beautiful hotel and I wish you can promote it in China I hope to hear back from you. Elena